Bridget Malcolm on sexual misconduct in fashion industry

She’s one of Australia’s most famous models, perhaps best known for walking the runway for Victoria’s Secret.

But on Thursday, Bridget Malcolm lifted the lid on the glamorous fashion industry to address the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.

In a blog post titled How To Protect Yourself As A Woman In The Fashion Industry, she wrote that model who don’t go along with ‘handsy photographers’ are often later described as ‘hard to work with’.

Revelation: Bridget Malcolm has lifted the lid on the fashion industry, saying models who don’t go along with ‘handsy photographers’ are often labelled as ‘hard to work with’

The 26-year-old also claimed there needed to be more accountability in her profession, in the wake of the #MeToo movement that has already swept through the entertainment industry following the Harvey Weinstein allegations.

‘I say it is about time we stopped dancing around the issues and started to hold some of these people accountable,’ she wrote.

Bridget went on to explain that models have, for years, felt afraid to speak up as they believed it would harm their career prospects.

Enough’s enough: ‘I say it is about time we stopped dancing around the issues and started to hold some of these people accountable,’ Bridget wrote in a moving blog post on Thursday

‘We have been warned about handsy photographers and editors, then sent to meet them anyway. Because, after all, they can make your career if they like you,’ Bridget wrote in the blog.

‘If you don’t play along with these men, your agency gets informed that you were “hard to work with” and “cold.” Dealing with these people was a constant balancing act, how to come across as “cool” and “fun” without getting assaulted.’

Bridget – who admitted that she had been relatively ‘unscathed’ by misconduct – added that there were things models could do to put themselves in a safer situation.

Unfair: Bridget explained, ‘If you don’t play along with these men, your agency gets informed that you were “hard to work with” and “cold”‘

Her advice to models included researching photographers and editors prior to walking on set, clearly defining boundaries about what they are prepared to do and, lastly, if something does occur, to report it immediately.

‘Being a female in the fashion industry does not make you fair game. Silence is how the assaulters get away with their actions. We must not remain silent anymore,’ she added.

Bridget said that she was inspired to speak out after American model Cameron Russell began sharing anonymous stories of abuse and sexual misconduct in the fashion industry on her Instagram page.

So far, Cameron has shared more than 70 stories of misconduct at the hands of agents and photographers using the hashtag: ‘My job does not deserve abuse’.

Speaking up: Bridget said that she was inspired to speak out after Cameron Russell (pictured) began sharing anonymous stories of abuse and sexual misconduct in the fashion industry